


The Miracle of the Avenging Angel

by realityisoverrated



Series: Infinite Love [210]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Polyamory, Polyfidelity, References to canon deaths, Smoaking billionaires, Threesome - F/M/M, Toliver, flommy, mention of a sick child, olicity - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-07
Updated: 2020-03-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:28:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23045572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/realityisoverrated/pseuds/realityisoverrated
Summary: It's a typical weekend in the Merlyn-Queen-Smoak household. Temple on Friday night, church on Sunday morning, and a whole lot of smut and confusion in between.  It's the 20th anniversary of the arrival of the Green Arrow in Starling City and Prue has an unusual interpretation of her superhero father.
Relationships: Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak, Tommy Merlyn/Felicity Smoak, Tommy Merlyn/Oliver Queen, Tommy Merlyn/Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak
Series: Infinite Love [210]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/381805
Comments: 42
Kudos: 145





	The Miracle of the Avenging Angel

**Author's Note:**

> This story depicts a polyamorous relationship between one woman and two men. If this is not something you are interested in, please stop and go no further.
> 
> My only explanation for this installment is a bout of pneumonia, cough syrup with codeine, and my niece recounting a bible story she heard in nursery school. I honestly can't tell you what story she was trying to tell me because, at some point, a steam shovel got involved.
> 
> This installment is 184/210. The chronological list for the series, with hyperlinks, can be found at  
> http://archiveofourown.org/works/11051019
> 
> Welcome to any new readers. The more the merrier.

Artwork by Lademonessa

“Da,” Prue said as Tommy placed a plate of apples and cheddar cheese in front of her, “will you take me to church on Sunday?”

Becca and Nate looked up from their afterschool snacks with matching expressions of concern.

“Church?” Tommy asked with surprise. In the twelve years he’d been a father, none of his children had ever asked to go to church. It was hard enough getting them all to Shabbat services every week. “Why do you want to go to church?”

Prue shrugged as she chewed on a slice of apple.

“I don’t want to go to church,” Nate said nervously around a mouthful of cheese.

“Me either,” Becca added quickly.

If he was being honest, Tommy wasn’t all that sure he wanted to go to church. Since they’d come out and he’d been met with condemnation by church leaders he’d found peace in only attending on Christmas Eve and his mom’s birthday. “Neither of you have to go.” Nate and Prue visibly relaxed and returned their attention to their snacks.

“Can we still go?” Prue asked Tommy eagerly.

“May we go?” Tommy asked, stalling a little.

Prue sighed. “May we go to church on Sunday?”

Unable to find a compelling excuse not to go and not really wanting to dissuade Prue if she had a genuine interest, he said, “Yes, if you really want to go.”

“Thanks, da,” she said, before taking a bite of apple.

He waited for her to elaborate on her reason for wanting to go to church, but she joined her sister and brother in a conversation about Halloween. Tommy was going to try to get further clarity on why she wanted to go to church when his phone buzzed with a text from Oliver informing him of a change in plans for the evening.

“No, da,” Prue said as Tommy pulled out her navy blue velvet dress with a white sash, “I’m going to wear that to church on Sunday.”

It had been two hours since Prue had made her unusual request and Tommy didn’t have time to worry about Prue’s wardrobe choices when he needed to get them to Shabbat services on time. “You can wear it tonight and on Sunday.”

Prue’s eyes went wide with horror. “Mommy says we can’t wear the same thing twice in a row.”

“Mommy only meant mommy can’t wear things twice in a row,” Tommy said pulling a pair of white tights from Prue’s dresser. Felicity frequently lamented how the paparazzi made it impossible for her to wear the dresses she loved too often lest she wanted to be called out for it by the press and the snarkier members of the public. “You can wear this tonight and on Sunday.”

“It will be dirty. I’ll wear my green dress,” Prue informed him as she opened her closet door.

Tommy winced. Normally, finding something to wear for Prue wasn’t difficult, but she’d had a growth spurt and only a few of her dresses still fit. Felicity was planning on taking Prue shopping the following weekend. “It’s in the laundry. I’ll wash it for Sunday.”

Prue’s bottom lip began to quiver. “It’s not fancy enough for church.”

“If your green dress is fancy enough for temple, it’s fancy enough for church,” Tommy said with growing impatience. “Nate, put your suit on, we’re going to be late.”

Nate reluctantly got up from where he was coloring on the floor and pulled his shirt over his head. “I don’t want to wear the red tie.”

Tommy pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why?”

“I want to wear a blue one, like you,” Nate said.

“Fine, go get your blue tie,” Tommy said, laying Prue’s dress on the end of her bed.

Prue stood defiantly in front of her closet with her arms folded across her chest. “I’m not wearing that.”

“It’s the only dress that is clean and fits you. You’re wearing it,” Tommy said. “Let’s go, your mom and dad are meeting us there. We don’t want to make them wait.”

“I’m not going,” Prue huffed. “You can’t make me.”

Tommy closed his eyes and counted to ten. “Do you want to go to church on Sunday?”

“Yes.”

“Then put on your blue dress and be downstairs in five minutes.” When Prue went to protest, he continued, “Or, you won’t be going to church on Sunday.”

“Fine,” Prue snapped. “You’re mean and I don’t like you very much.”

“That’s okay. I still love you.”

Tommy left the nursery to check on his other two. “Becca are you dressed yet?” he asked through her closed bedroom door.

“Almost,” Becca replied.

Bobby walked past Tommy, his shoes in his hands. “Buddy, your socks don’t match.”

Bobby looked down at his feet. One sock was purple with light blue circles, the other was yellow with blue stripes. “I know.”

Tommy didn’t have it in him to care about Bobby’s sartorial choices, but he hated that he had to care. Living in the public eye was a strange way to live and people judged their parenting abilities on the most trivial things. The children’s hair, their clothing, their weight, their height, all were used as indicators as to whether Oliver, Tommy, and Felicity were good parents. Letting their children express their personality in how they dress was often met with the tabloids speculating that Oliver, Tommy, and Felicity were having marital problems and too distracted to notice their son was wearing mismatched socks in public. “Bobby,” he said with a sigh.

“Da, no one will see my feet, I promise,” Bobby said as he did a little shimmy on the hard wood floor.

“Fine.” Tommy knocked on Becca’s door. “Do you need any help?”

Becca’s door opened and she turned her back to Tommy. She pulled her hair over one shoulder. “Zipper me, please.”

She twirled in front of Tommy. “You look beautiful. Go downstairs with your brother and help him get everyone’s good coats.”

With his eldest sorted, he returned his attention to his youngest. Nate held out his tie for Tommy’s help. “You look very handsome.”

Nate beamed at Tommy. “Thanks. You do too.”

“Thank you,” Tommy said, and he placed a kiss on Nate’s head. “Downstairs and put your good coat on.”

Tommy knelt on the floor to help Prue with the strap she was struggling with on her patent leather shoes. She pulled her foot away. “I can do it.”

Tommy sat back on his heels. “I know you can sweetheart.” He watched as she eventually managed to finish buckling both shoes. She stood up and ran her hands down the rich velvet. “You look beautiful.” He held out his hand to her. “Are you ready?” Prue looked at him and took his hand, even though a scowl was still planted on her face. Tommy took her hand with relief.

“Prue says you’re taking her to church on Sunday,” Felicity said when Tommy exited the bathroom.

Oliver put the tablet he was reading down. “Church?”

Felicity sat on the edge of Tommy’s side of the bed and rubbed moisturizer onto her elbows. “That’s what she said.”

“It was her idea,” Tommy explained. “I asked why she wanted to go, but she’s keeping that to herself.”

Oliver frowned. “That’s weird. Our kids don’t normally volunteer to attend services.”

“Maybe she heard about communion wafers and she thinks they serve cake at mass,” Felicity suggested with a grin.

Tommy snorted. “That seems as reasonable explanation as any other. I’m sure I’ll find out on Sunday.”

“Do you want me to come with?” Oliver offered.

Tommy placed a kiss to his husband’s lips. “I appreciate the offer, but Father Michael is running the service. I don’t need to worry about any ugly confrontations. If anything, he’ll tell me that I’m missed, and he’d like to see more of me.”

Felicity grimaced. “I think Father Michael was a Jewish mother in another life. He knows how to lay on the guilt.” She squeezed Tommy’s hand. “Still, it’s nice to be missed. You know we’ll support you if you want to go back.”

There was a part of Tommy that missed the comforting ritual of Sunday mass, but he refused to fully participate in an organization that described his marriage as a sin and claimed his children were bastards. He struggled with even bringing the children to the occasional service. “Maybe I should discourage the kids more. We decided to raise them Jewish. All this church stuff might be too confusing.”

“Our kids are smart. They can handle some cognitive dissonance,” Felicity said. “Your faith is a part of who you are. We can still celebrate your holidays as a family as we raise them Jewish. We’re not canceling Christmas - I love the cookies too much to stop.”

“And we wonder why our daughter might think communion wafers are cake,” Oliver mumbled as he turned off his lamp.

When Felicity moved to get beneath the comforter, Tommy wrapped his arms around her and held her flush against his chest. He lowered his forehead to hers. It meant everything to him that his husband and wife supported him in all things, including his fraught relationship with his faith and the Church. “Thank you, babe.” He brushed his lips against hers before sucking on her bottom lip.

Felicity returned his kiss and began tugging on his t-shirt when his tongue stroked against hers. Breathlessly she broke the kiss and hurried out of her pajamas. “Hon, I think we’re about to have some lapsed Catholic sex.”

Tommy tugged his t-shirt over his head. Oliver and Felicity insisted he became extra horny when he was upset about his falling out with the Church. He didn’t think there was any truth to it, but Oliver and Felicity loved to tease him about it. “There’s no such thing.”

Oliver got out of bed and locked their bedroom door, shedding his pajamas as he returned to their bed. “Buddy, after twenty years, I promise you, it is totally a thing. Do you want me to fuck you hard enough for the pope to feel it?”

Tommy groaned. The last thing his sex drive needed was thoughts about the Holy Father. “Please, Ollie. Don’t talk about the pope when we all want me to keep this erection.”

Felicity pushed Tommy’s pajama bottoms over his hips and down his legs. She gave him a playful shove and he flopped onto their mattress. Straddling his waist, she licked her lips and grinned. “I can think of a few things we can do to help you stay hard.” She pointed to Oliver’s nightstand. “Hon, get the lube.”

Tommy pushed Felicity’s hair from her eyes. She was biting her lip and he pulled it free with the pad of his thumb. “What’s going on in there, Ms. Smoak?”

“Something very, very naughty Mr. Merlyn.” Felicity laid down with her head pointing to the foot of the bed and gestured for Tommy to join her. “Come here.” Tommy shifted to lay in the cradle of her legs when her hand stopped him. “Un uh. Other way. Our husband is going to help me keep you hard.”

Tommy’s cock twitched as he realized what his wife had in mind. Oliver took his hand and helped position him with his knees beside Felicity’s shoulders as he faced their headboard. Felicity wrapped her arms around the back of his thighs, and she squeezed his butt. Tommy lowered himself until his elbows rested against the mattress. He placed a kiss to Felicity’s inner thigh before he lowered his mouth to kiss her sex. Felicity’s tongue circled the head of his cock before she sucked it between her lips. “Fuck,” he said against her mound before he plunged his tongue between her folds. Felicity hummed around his cock and her hips rolled to provide him better access. Felicity used her hands to control his thrusting as she took him deeper into her mouth. Tommy’s concentration wavered as Felicity’s warm wet mouth swallowed around him. Oliver’s hand came down sharply on his ass and Tommy cried out with surprise.

“Focus,” Oliver instructed, his breath blowing across Tommy’s stinging skin.

Tommy’s mouth returned to Felicity and his tongue began to circle her clitoris. He slid an arm beneath her hips and held her firmly against his mouth. Oliver’s tongue licked a stripe across Tommy’s pucker, and he clutched at the comforter with his free hand. Oliver’s hand slid down Tommy’s spine and fisted in his hair. Tommy’s focus on giving Felicity pleasure was the only thing keeping him from coming down her throat as his body hummed with the pleasure he was receiving from his husband and wife’s mouths.

Tommy gasped as cool lubricant ran between his cheeks and Oliver’s fingers massaged his hole. “Ollie.”

“Do you want me to fuck you with my fingers while you fuck our wife’s mouth?” Oliver asked, his fist tugging on Tommy’s hair.

“Yes,” Tommy answered as his hips rolled and he fucked into Felicity’s mouth.

Felicity pulled on his hips with encouragement. Tommy thrust into her mouth again, but Oliver’s fingers failed to deliver on his promise. “Ollie,” he whined.

“Did you forget about our wife?” Oliver asked as he pushed the tip of his finger inside Tommy.

“No,” Tommy grunted and returned his tongue to providing Felicity pleasure. Felicity moaned around his cock and he was further rewarded when Oliver pushed his finger past the ring of muscle.

“Fuck, ‘licity,” Oliver moaned.

Tommy wished he could see what Felicity was doing to their husband, but Felicity was too close to the edge and none of them were in the mood for teasing. He closed his lips around her bud and began to suck.

Everything fell away from Tommy’s mind except the beautiful sounds Felicity and Oliver were making and the pleasure they were drawing from him. He was going to need to stop them if he didn’t want things to end too soon, but first he needed to make sure Felicity came. Oliver and Felicity weren’t the only ones who had twenty years of experience to draw on. His tongue swirled around her clit before he pressed his lips tightly against her and sucked hard.

Felicity’s back arched and Tommy’s cock slid from her mouth. “Oh, god, babe, just like that.” Felicity’s hands ran over his back as she began to moan and swear. Tremors began to move up her legs and she bucked beneath him. He held her close as he sucked hard against her clit and she went rigid as she cried out. He gentled his sucking as she rode out the wave of her orgasm. Felicity’s arms and knees fell boneless against the bed. Tommy placed a kiss against her thigh.

Oliver’s weight shifted against the bed and the head of his cock pushed against Tommy’s entrance. Felicity’s lips wrapped around the head of his cock and she sucked softly as Oliver thrust forward and filled Tommy. Oliver paused until Tommy pushed back against him. Oliver rocked slowly into him. He released his grip on Tommy’s hair and slid the arm beneath Tommy’s chest and wrapped his thumb and forefinger around the base of his throat. “Felicity, I’m going to move him.”

Felicity released Tommy’s cock. “Go ahead.”

Oliver’s strength never failed to amaze Tommy as he lifted them both to a kneeling position. He moved the hand from around Tommy’s throat and angled his chin so Oliver could kiss him. Tommy raised his arms and clung to Oliver’s shoulder and head as they sloppily kissed. Felicity’s chest pressed against Tommy’s and her mouth and tongue tangled with her husbands’. Her hand wrapped around Tommy’s cock and she began to stroke him as Oliver snapped his hips. “Fuck,” Tommy panted, his head falling back onto Oliver’s shoulder. “So good.”

Felicity began to suck on Tommy’s nipple as Oliver bit down on his earlobe and tugged. “Is this why you went to confession when we were teenagers? Is this what you used to ask forgiveness for?” Oliver demanded.

“No,” Tommy panted. He didn’t have this vivid an imagination back when he was in high school and would confess his unclean thoughts.

“No?” Oliver asked with a powerful thrust. “What did you confess? What were the deep dark desires you whispered? Tell us. What do you want us to do to you?”

“This – this is b-better,” Tommy stammered.

Oliver’s hand joined Felicity’s and squeezed harder around his cock as they jerked him. “Tell us what you want.”

Tommy could barely think. “Ollie, harder.”

Oliver and Felicity shared a look over Tommy’s shoulder, and she released her hold on him. She moved until her back was against the headboard. “Do you want him to fuck you with his big hard cock?”

No sooner was his assent passed his lips than Oliver had pushed him forward until his chest and cheek were pressed against the mattress. Oliver pulled Tommy’s hips up and spread his knees further apart before he snapped his hips and nailed Tommy’s prostate. Tommy’s hands clutched at the sheets beneath his hands. He rocked back against his husband, encouraging Oliver to drive harder. Felicity’s hands covered his and she lowered her mouth to his ears. “You are so beautiful.”

Tommy had never confessed to a priest anything more specific than having sexual desires. He’d never told any priest that he had sexual attraction to both men and women. He’d been too afraid to tell the truth. As a teenager, there had been plenty of fantasies about Oliver bending him over and taking him roughly, and of a beautiful woman sucking on his cock, but Felicity’s words reminded him of what his true teenaged fantasies had been about. Acceptance. It was all he ever wanted. To be accepted for who he was, and to be loved for who he was. He was living his wildest fantasy.

“Wait,” he said, suddenly overcome with emotion. “Wait.”

Oliver’s hips immediately stilled. “Are you all right? Am I hurting you?”

“I’m okay. I need,” Tommy wasn’t sure he could say what he needed.

Oliver withdrew. Felicity caressed his cheek. “What do you need, babe?”

Tommy smiled at his wife as he wrapped his arms around her. “You. Both of you.”

“You have us,” Felicity said as she peppered his face with kisses.

“Closer,” he told Felicity as he rolled onto his back.

“Closer,” he told Oliver, tugging on his hand until he was lying beside them.

“Closer,” he told Felicity as he guided her astride him. She took him inside and began to rock her hips slowly.

“Closer,” he whispered to Ollie as he guided their lips together.

“Tommy.” Felicity’s voice drew him from Oliver’s lips. She leaned forward, “I love you.”

“I love you,” he said before pulling her closer to kiss. He bent his knees and thrust up into her.

“Mmm,” she hummed against his lips before sitting up. Tommy and Oliver pressed their thumbs against her clit as she rocked against Tommy’s pelvis. Felicity’s head fell back as she massaged her breasts. “So good.” Her hips began to lose their rhythm, but her husbands’ fingers rubbed small circles against her. Felicity lifted her head, her lips parted, watching her husbands as she orgasmed around Tommy, sending ripples of pleasure up his spine and low into his belly. It would only take a few pumps of his hips to bring him to orgasm, but he could wait. Tommy wrapped his arms around her back and she slumped forward. Her husbands pressed gentle kisses against her face and neck. She rolled off Tommy and tapped Oliver’s arm. “You’re up,” she said and began to giggle, gesturing vaguely at her husbands’ erections.

“Come here,” Oliver growled, leaning over Tommy. His fingers tangled in Felicity’s matted hair and pulled her in for a kiss.

Tommy didn’t think it was possible to get harder but watching Oliver and Felicity kiss was running the risk of him coming without anyone touching him.

Tommy tipped a knee into Oliver’s side. Oliver broke his kiss with Felicity and raised a lone eyebrow. “Someone’s impatient.”

“Someone is,” Tommy admitted. He wanted to come with his husband inside him.

Felicity reached behind her for the lube and Oliver slowly stroked his cock as Felicity drizzled lube onto him. Tommy lifted his knees as Oliver moved into position. Oliver licked into Tommy’s mouth as he pushed his cock inside. “Fuck,” Oliver hissed, burying his face in Tommy’s neck. “You feel so good.”

Tommy reached for Oliver’s ass and pulled him in as he pushed his own hips against Oliver’s. “Closer,” Tommy insisted. Felicity’s hand slid between them and wrapped around Tommy’s cock as Oliver began to thrust.

“Felicity,” Tommy turned his chin towards his wife, “kiss me.”

Felicity’s tongue stroked the roof of his mouth as her hand twisted around his cock. Oliver’s cock was relentless and stroked against his prostate. Tommy’s orgasm was coiled low in his belly and he was only a few strokes away from flying apart.

“Tommy,” Oliver gasped against his neck before lifting his head.

Tommy and Felicity stopped kissing. “I love you,” Tommy told Oliver as his husband pushed deeply into him, his pupils blown wide. Oliver stilled as Felicity’s hand pumped faster between them. Tommy pushed into Felicity’s hand and his body spasmed around Oliver, causing them both to moan. Felicity’s hand slowed as she milked Tommy’s orgasm to the end.

Oliver lowered his weight onto Tommy. “I love you,” he mumbled against Tommy’s neck.

Felicity curled against Tommy’s side as Oliver gingerly withdrew. Tommy’s heart hammered in his chest and he huffed out a small laugh. They were going to need to get up, shower and change their sheets, but Tommy was too blissed out to move.

“What’s so funny,” Oliver asked, his breathing heavy.

“I love you both.”

Felicity rested her chin on his chest. “Loving us is funny?”

Tommy shook his head. “Why would I ever confess any of this as a sin? You’re both fucking miracles.”

St. Mary’s was fairly empty as the priest delivered his homily. When Tommy had been a regular, attendance at non-holiday masses were always less crowded than they were at Christmas and Easter, but Tommy never would’ve used the word sparse to describe it. He’d hoped they would’ve been able to hide in the back unnoticed. Instead he and Prue were seated in the third pew and everyone had stared until the service began.

It wasn’t surprising that Prue had lost interest in the sermon from the moment it began. For starters, she was six, and no six-year-old cared about the sermon. What was surprising was that Tommy had also lost interest in the sermon. It wasn’t Father Michael’s best work. He was attempting to discuss the ripple effects of good works but was using Halloween as a metaphor. Tommy had lost the thread a few times and wasn’t quite sure if he was supposed to go out on Halloween dressed like Jesus. He had to cover his mouth to stop a chuckle as he thought of telling Donna she needed to redesign the family costumes. Forget the latest Disney movie, they were going as Jesus and his Apostles. Bored, Tommy watched his daughter as her eyes flicked from window to window, statue to statue, taking in the décor. It wasn’t her first time inside St. Mary’s, but she was acting like it was. She turned around in the pew, rose to her knees, and rested her arms and chin on the back of the seat to stare at a statue of the Annunciation. The angel Gabriel towered over a kneeling Mary telling her that she was with child. Tommy always felt sorry for Mary. It couldn’t have been easy to explain to your fiancé that you were pregnant with someone else’s child, even if it was God’s child. When he was younger, he’d doubted Joseph loved Jesus as his own, after all, Tommy’s own father didn’t love him. Tommy had his doubts up until the moment Bobby was born. He and Oliver were full of so much love and it hadn’t mattered who his biological father was. Fatherhood had nothing to do with biology. Tommy had grown to appreciate Joseph and his love for Mary and their son. Tommy stopped himself from turning Prue back around. She was being quiet, and no one was sitting behind them to be distracted by her.

Prue sat back down as the priest concluded the service. The congregation rose for the recessional. As soon as the priest walked by, she asked, “Are we going to light candles?”

“Yes, we’ll light some candles before we leave.”

Tommy held Prue as he said a prayer before they lit candles for Rebecca, Moira, Robert, and Laurel. After he lit a fifth candle, she asked, “Who was that for?”

The answer was for his father’s victims but instead he said, “For the people of Starling City.”

“Is one candle enough?” Prue whispered.

One candle didn’t seem enough, nor did his prayers, but it was all Tommy could do. “God doesn’t need a candle to hear our prayers.”

Prue tilted her head as she considered his words. “Then why do you light one?”

“The candle helps me focus and it is a good reminder that all we need to banish the darkness is a little light.” Tommy kissed her cheek. “Are you ready to go home?”

Prue brought her fists up to her chest and Tommy prepared himself for a request. “Can we bring grandmas and Aunt Laurel flowers?”

He’d been expecting a request to go out for pancakes. “May we,” he corrected as he channeled his inner Moira.”

Prue nodded. “May we?”

There wasn’t any reason to say no. He hadn’t been out to the cemetery since he went with Oliver on Father’s Day. The weather was sunny for a late October day. It wouldn’t be long before the winter rains set in and they’d be stuck indoors. They had a few hours before they had to be home for lunch. “Yes.”

Tommy smiled as he watched Prue arrange the flowers and small pumpkin on Moira and Robert’s graves. Prue had insisted on bringing pumpkins since it was so close to Halloween. She had already gone through the same ritual at Laurel and his mom’s graves. Finally satisfied with her arrangement, Prue stood up. He held out the stones she’d picked out as they walked through the cemetery. She took her stones and placed them on top of the headstone. Once Tommy had added his, she gestured at the surrounding graves and asked, “Which one is daddy’s?”

Tommy froze with surprise. None of the children had ever asked where Oliver’s grave had been. When he remained silent, Prue tugged on his coat and repeated her question.

He swallowed heavily. “Daddy didn’t have a grave here. Grandma Moira had headstones at the mansion.”

Tommy offered her his hand and she took it. “Did you bring daddy flowers?”

Tommy headed back towards their car. “No, I didn’t bring daddy flowers.” It wasn’t that he didn’t visit Oliver’s memorial. In the early years, he would go with Thea, but he hadn’t believed Oliver to be dead. After Hong Kong, he visited, but he usually brought a bottle of booze instead of flowers. After Colorado, he’d stayed away from Oliver’s grave for his own mental health.

Prue stopped walking. “Why not? You loved daddy.”

“Yes, I loved daddy, but he wasn’t really dead,” Tommy answered.

“But you thought he was dead,” Prue said. “Everyone thought daddy was dead.”

“Yes, we did,” Tommy agreed.

“So, why didn’t you bring daddy flowers?”

Tommy’s eyes filled with tears. He never knew the right way to speak to his children about his life without Oliver. How could he explain to a six-year-old that he’d spent two years in denial, a year self-destructing, and another two clawing his way out of depression until he’d found acceptance? “I didn’t bring daddy flowers because I didn’t believe he was dead.”

Prue tugged on Tommy’s hand until he bent closer to her. She whispered, “Daddy did die, and he came back as an angel.”

“What?” Tommy asked with confusion. “Prue, your daddy did not die. He’s a man, not an angel.”

Prue shook her head. “The news said that when the Green Arrow first came to Starling City he was a venging angel. If the Green Arrow is a venging angel than daddy must be a venging angel too.”

Tommy had to stop himself from groaning. The recent twentieth anniversary of the Green Arrow’s first appearance had been all over the news. There had been specials on the local news and cable going through the history of the Green Arrow in Starling and vigilantes in general. “Sweetheart, daddy isn’t an avenging angel. The news was saying that to be dramatic. Calling someone an avenging angel means that person is righting wrongs. It’s just a saying. Daddy is a man. A wonderful man, but still a man.”

“Molly says they talk about angels in church all the time and if you pray hard enough when someone dies God turns good people who die into angels and sends them back to earth to protect people. Daddy says you pray for all of us every day. You must have prayed very hard to get God to turn daddy into an angel so he could come back and protect everyone.”

Tommy sank to his knees and took hold of Prue’s hands. Oliver making it home to him was a miracle, but it hadn’t been a resurrection or an angelic transformation. “Baby, listen to me. I did pray a lot when the Gambit sank. I prayed every day that your daddy, Grandpa Robert, and Aunt Sara were safe and that they would come home, but your daddy wasn’t dead. He made it into a lifeboat and his boat washed up on an island. When he came home, he decided to help people as the Green Arrow because he’s a good man who wants to protect people – a good man, not an angel. No matter how hard we pray, we can’t bring someone back from the dead.” If prayers worked that way, his mom, Moira, Robert, and Laurel would be waiting at home to have lunch with them.

Prue pulled her hand free from Tommy’s and held his face. “You don’t have to bring me flowers when I die, you can just pray like you did for daddy and I’ll come back as a venging angel and help daddy protect people.”

A sob leapt from Tommy’s throat and he crushed Prue against his chest. He buried his face in her curls. He hated that death was something his child ever thought about. Her most recent hospitalization had left her with a preoccupation about death. They’d begun taking her to a child psychologist, and they’d thought it had been helping. “You’re not going to die for a long time,” he said through his tears.

Prue patted his back and repeated. “Don’t cry, da. It’s okay, da.”

Tommy lifted his head to rest his forehead against his daughter’s. “Prue.”

“Don’t be sad, da. I’ll come back as an angel, so you won’t miss me. Just like daddy.” Prue put her arms around Tommy and kissed his cheek.

Tommy struggled to find his composure. “Prue, I know the last time you were in the hospital it was very scary, but you’re all better. You’re not dying.”

Prue smiled brightly. “I know. You prayed for me to get better and I did. I heard you.”

She was right, Tommy sat by her bedside in the I.C.U all summer and prayed. He prayed for a miracle and they’d gotten one. “I did pray for you to get better. I prayed that you would have the strength to keep fighting while the doctors figured out how to make you better.”

Prue wiped the tears as they rolled down Tommy’s cheeks. “Don’t worry, da. Next time, you won’t have to worry that you’ll miss me when I die because I’ll come back as an angel. Okay?”

Tommy didn’t know what to say. He was going to make an appointment with her therapist as soon as they got home because he had no idea if Prue was experiencing progress or a setback. “Is this why you wanted to go to church today?”

Prue nodded and look relieved he understood. “Molly said that I could see angels inside the church, and I could pray to God. I prayed that I wouldn’t get sick anymore but, if I do get sick again, I prayed that God would make me an angel like daddy.”

Getting into the theology of angels and explaining to Prue that angels were God’s messengers and not resurrected humans wasn’t going to help. It probably didn’t hurt for Prue to believe in angels if they brought her comfort, but she couldn’t go around telling everyone that Oliver was dead and had come back as an avenging angel. He was going to need to call their rabbi right after he called her therapist. The rabbi had been great with Prue at Rosh Hashanah and might be able to guide Tommy on how to talk to Prue about sickness, death, and faith. Tommy stood up with Prue in his arms. “We should get home before we’re late for lunch and Scott eats all the dessert.”

Prue shook her head and looked at him like he was the silliest man on the planet. “Grandma won’t let Scott eat my dessert.”

“You’re right, grandma won’t let anyone eat your dessert.”

“Da,” Prue said softly as she laid her head on his shoulder. “We should bring mommy, grandma, and Aunt Thea flowers too.”

“I think that’s an excellent idea. Should we get flowers for you too?” he asked, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

Prue lifted her head and a mischievous smile lit up her face. “May we get pumpkins to carve instead?”

“Yes, we can,” Tommy answered.

“Yes, we may,” Prue said seriously.

Tommy stopped walking. Prue’s eyes went wide, and she burst out laughing. “I stand corrected. Yes, we may,” he said right before he tickled her sides.

Prue’s laughter spilled out of her and rolled across the lawn and between the stones. The sound eased the ache in his heart. Despite her summer spent in the hospital, Prue was still a happy child. They would need to speak with her psychologist, but as long as she found joy in things like dessert, bringing her mother flowers, pumpkin carving and correcting his grammar, she was going to be okay. His fingers danced along her sides and another peal of miraculous laughter rang out. Logically, he knew the dead couldn’t hear her, but Tommy prayed her grandmothers could.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. Your kudos and comments are what keep me writing and are always appreciated.
> 
> I apologize for the long wait. February was a rough month. A case of the flu turned into pneumonia. I spent most of February in a fog. I missed a lot of birthdays while I was sick. Happy belated birthdays to Baz, Dani, and Gigi.
> 
> Here we are on the other side of Arrow. If you haven't watched, don't read this paragraph. I do miss seeing my tv friends once a week. I'm kind of ambivalent about the finale. I enjoyed most of the cameos we got to see. I was very happy to see that Tommy was alive and well. I was sorry we never got a scene with Tommy and Felicity talking or with Moira meeting her grandchildren. Also, I really hope they aren't spending an eternity in an office building, but I'm pretty sure everyone's fantasies about office sex came true. How did everyone else feel?
> 
> You can also come say hi to me on tumblr. I'm always happy to answer questions about this verse or anything else Arrow. http://realityisoverrated-fic.tumblr.com


End file.
